The clownlike coloring of the tufted puffin gives it a comical aspect.

The clownlike coloring of the tufted puffin gives it a comical aspect.

Photo: Randy Wilder, Monterey Bay Aquarium

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Nearly 20,000 Pacific sardines can be found at the Monterey Bay Aquarium -- originally the site of a sardine cannery -- including some 14,000 that swim with one of the two green sea turtles in the new Open Sea exhibit. less

Nearly 20,000 Pacific sardines can be found at the Monterey Bay Aquarium -- originally the site of a sardine cannery -- including some 14,000 that swim with one of the two green sea turtles in the new Open Sea ... more

Photo: Randy Wilder, Monterey Bay Aquarium

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The black sea nettle, returning to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's jellies exhibit after more than a year's absence, normally drifts far offshore and only nears land every five years or so.

The black sea nettle, returning to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's jellies exhibit after more than a year's absence, normally drifts far offshore and only nears land every five years or so.

Photo: Randy Wilder, Monterey Bay Aquarium

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The ocean sunfish, the world's heaviest bony fish and a previous favorite of Monterey Bay Aquarium visitors, will return to its million-gallon tank when it reopens as the Open Sea exhibit.

The ocean sunfish, the world's heaviest bony fish and a previous favorite of Monterey Bay Aquarium visitors, will return to its million-gallon tank when it reopens as the Open Sea exhibit.

Photo: Randy Wilder, Monterey Bay Aquarium

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Like the tufted puffin, the pigeon guillemot (seen in its winter plumage) uses its wings to swim underwater -- and is also new to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Like the tufted puffin, the pigeon guillemot (seen in its winter plumage) uses its wings to swim underwater -- and is also new to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Photo: Randy Wilder, Monterey Bay Aquarium

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The crab zoea (larval stage of crab) is a zooplankton that eats the even smaller phytoplankton at the bottom of the ocean's food chain.

The crab zoea (larval stage of crab) is a zooplankton that eats the even smaller phytoplankton at the bottom of the ocean's food chain.

Photo: Randy Wilder, Monterey Bay Aquarium

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A panoramic window offers a glimpse into the Open Sea galleries, which will fully open July 2 at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

A panoramic window offers a glimpse into the Open Sea galleries, which will fully open July 2 at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Photo: Christopher Chan

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Pebble, a juvenile African blackfooted penguin on exhibit in Monterey Bay Aquarium's Splash Zone, is one of the aquarium's first successful hatchlings of the species.

Pebble, a juvenile African blackfooted penguin on exhibit in Monterey Bay Aquarium's Splash Zone, is one of the aquarium's first successful hatchlings of the species.

Photo: Randy Wilder, Monterey Bay Aquarium

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While the pharaoh cuttlefish can't see color themselves, they are masters of changing their hues to avoid predators, confuse their prey and communicate with each other. Hatchlings from the Monterey Bay Aquarium are often sent to institutions around the country. less

While the pharaoh cuttlefish can't see color themselves, they are masters of changing their hues to avoid predators, confuse their prey and communicate with each other. Hatchlings from the Monterey Bay Aquarium ... more

Photo: Randy Wilder, Monterey Bay Aquarium

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The tufted puffin, which flaps its wings when swimming underwater, will make its debut at the Monterey Bay Aquarium July 2, when the new Open Sea galleries are unveiled.

The tufted puffin, which flaps its wings when swimming underwater, will make its debut at the Monterey Bay Aquarium July 2, when the new Open Sea galleries are unveiled.

Photo: Randy Wilder, Monterey Bay Aquarium

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Green sea turtles will return to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for the first time in several years when their renovated display area reopens next month.

Green sea turtles will return to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for the first time in several years when their renovated display area reopens next month.

Photo: Randy Wilder, Monterey Bay Aquarium

8 don't-miss creatures at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

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Sure, the frolicking sea otters are cute, the tiny seahorses sweet and the hot pink flamingos as flashy as they sound. If the Monterey Bay Aquarium were Hollywood, these creatures would be its royalty, with their exhibits on all the Homes of the Stars tours.

But the July 2 reopening of the aquarium's Open Sea galleries will showcase new marvels of the animal kingdom, from a shark potentate to plankton peons — with a couple of feathered court jesters in between. Meanwhile, a baby boom has also brought new life, literally, to several displays at the Cannery Row attraction.

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Although it's possible to encounter some of these wonders in the wild, many are elusive, living far from shore. Here are eight to add to your aquarium celebrity checklist, before ogling those sea otters.

1. Sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus)

New view: Although the aquarium is renowned for being the only institution over the last half-century to exhibit (and release) great white sharks, the opening of the Open Sea galleries will mark the debut of the sandbar shark here.

Creature features: One of the largest coastal pelagic sharks in the world, at up to 8 feet long, the sandbar shark migrates seasonally from its namesake home in the shallow waters to the open ocean. Its size and prominent dorsal fin will make it easy to spot in the new million-gallon exhibit. Both tank and shark had better be big — the aquarium plans to also put a great white shark on display there this summer.

Wild side: Found in waters from southern Massachusetts to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean; in the Mediterranean and from Portugal to the Congo; and in scattered sites across the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. It's considered harmless to humans, and generally avoids beaches and surf zones according to the MarineBio Conservation Society.

2. Tufted puffin (Fratercula cirrhata)

New view: The "parrot of the sea" (a less-kind nickname is "clown of the ocean") is also a first-time denizen at the aquarium, on view with the advent of the Open Sea. A born entertainer, the tufted puffin will be part of the Unscheduled Feeding Opportunities (UFO) program, which sends text messages to alert patrons of special feedings or sightings the day of their visit.

Creature features: Like the clown car of beaks, the tufted puffin's bill can carry up to 20 small fish at a time, with the help of a raspy tongue that pins them against spines on the palate. The bird's got time to hunt, with the ability to stay underwater for up to a minute. And like the pigeon guillemot, another bird newly on display at the aquarium, the tufted puffin flaps its wings when swimming below the surface.

Wild side: Breeds along the coast from northern Alaska to California and winters out at sea, as well as in Asia.

3. Black sea nettle (Chrysaora achlyos)

New view: It's been away from the aquarium for more than a year, but was brought back to "showcase the diverse beauty of the sea nettles along the California coast," said Thomas Knowles, the aquarium's jelly aquaculturist. The colorful jellies (as jellyfish are now known) are already on view in the Open Sea gallery that focuses on drifting species.

Creature features: Other than the fact that they're the largest invertebrate described in the 20th century, not a lot was known about these sea nettles until recently, thanks to lives spent normally in the open ocean. But every five years or so, ocean currents push them into the sphere of boaters and beach goers.

Wild side: Offshore of Southern California and Mexico — unless it's one of those fifth years, when you might spot it on the beach in San Diego.

4. African blackfooted penguin (Spheniscus demersus)

New view: This penguin species have been part of the Splash Zone family galleries for a while, but two of the 22 have only been on display full time since June 1. That's because Pebble and Tola, as they're called, were born earlier this year — the first-ever chicks hatched at the aquarium — and had to be gradually reintroduced after being raised behind the scenes.

Creature features: At first the adult penguins would chase and peck at the chicks — normal behavior, according to Aimee Greenebaum, associate curator of aviculture. "Every day it got better and better," she said. "We tried to let them work it out themselves.

Now that they're the same size as the adults, the two Monterey-born males with "distinct personalities," Greenebaum noted, can be spotted in the crowd by virtue of their juvenile plumage: more black and silvery-gray, compared to the grownups' bolder black and white pattern. The birds' braying calls are also distinctive; click on these links to hear "I'm happy" and "go away" in blackfooted penguinese.

Wild side: Indigenous to southern Africa, breeding between Namibia and South Africa.

5. Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)

New view: The aquarium's two, unnamed 300-pound females had a habit of nibbling loose tiles in their old exhibit — one reason the million-gallon display underwent the renovation that kept them out of view for a couple of years. The public can see them again beginning July 2, swimming with some 14,000 Pacific sardines among other species in the Open Sea tank.

Creature features: Each turtle eats 3.5 to 4 pounds of vegetables daily — within minutes of reintroduction to their exhibit, they made a beeline to their feeding stations for their favorite salad of romaine lettuce and bell peppers, according to their handlers. "The great navigators of the sea," as aquarium spokeswoman Angela Hains calls them, always return to the beaches where they hatched to nest, no matter how far the distance. "What remains a mystery is where sea turtles go to live after hatching and before returning to their nesting beaches," she notes.

Wild side: Green sea turtles are found around the world in temperate and tropical waters.

6. Ocean sunfish (Mola mola)

New view: This popular big-boned fish has been on a break due to remodeling since May 2010 — and now it's also sporting a new look. During its year off, it almost doubled in length, from 32.7 inches to 4 feet 10, and now weighs 353 pounds, up from just 77. It's another member of the million-gallon tank gang going on display July 2.

Creature features: The growth of the ocean sunfish — named for its time spent basking near the surface — from its newly hatched larval stage to the largest adult size ever recorded "would be like a human baby growing up to be larger than the Titanic," said senior aquarist Michael Howard. The aquarium's challenge is to feed this one a high-volume, low-calorie diet similar to the gobs of jellies it would slurp down at sea. The solution? Two meals a day of sausage-shaped gelatin, mimicking the jellies' nutritional content if not their aesthetic appeal. (The Open Sea exhibit will feature live feedings at 11 a.m. daily.)

In the wild: Found throughout the globe in offshore temperate and tropical waters, including the Eastern Pacific off the United States and Baja California. They're found year round in Monterey Bay, with juveniles congregating near shore during late summer and fall.

7. Pharaoh cuttlefish (Sepia pharaonis)

New view: Part of the same family as squid and octopus, cuttlefish have been part of the Splash Zone and occasionally the UFO program for the last five years. However, the handful now on view are in the teenage phase, Hains noted; thanks to a recent baby boom, behind the scenes are smaller ones that will soon also go on exhibit.

Creature features: These invertebrates may not be able to see colors, but they're among the craftiest camouflage artists on the planet. By changing hues, they not only hide from predators but also hunt their prey, creating bands of color on their eight arms that look like concentric circles hypnotically moving forward ("your eyes are getting heavy…") Suddenly, the mesmerized victim is grabbed by the cuttlefish's two feeding tentacles.

The colorful "hovering spaceships," as Hains describes them, are able to control their buoyancy by means of a porous internal shell, called a cuttlebone, which the cuttlefish can fill with liquid or air.

In the wild: Its Indo-Pacific habitat of coral reefs and rubble extends from North Australia to Japan and the Red Sea.

8. Plankton (many species)

New view: An all-new multimedia, interactive exhibit explores the microscopic world of these single-celled organisms (and others not much larger) that are at the bottom of the food chain — though no less crucial for being there.

Creature features: It's a plankton-eat-plankton world out there, with zooplankton such as crab zoea (the crustacean's newly hatched stage) eating the plant life known as phytoplankton, which use photosynthesis to create sugars. Many fish and krill also graze on plankton, which the aquarium calls the "pastures of the sea."

In the wild: Everywhere fish are found.

***

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is open daily 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., till 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays July 2-Sept. 4. Admission is $29.95 adults, $19.95 ages 3 to 12, $27.95 for ages 13 to 17, college students and ages 65-plus. If you're staying at a Monterey hotel, inquire about two-day tickets for the price of one day's admission.

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